The idea of using travel to enforce tax collection isn't anything new: It was proposed in the U.S. government as early as 2012, rejected, and ultimately approved in late 2015 by Congress and signed into law by then-President Obama. According to the "Revocation or Denial of Passport in Case of Certain Unpaid Taxes," the IRS is authorized to notify the State Department, which can revoke an existing passport, or "generally" not issue or renew a passport after receiving such a flag. The IRS is also required to notify you in writing that it contacted the State Department, which gives you an opportunity to straighten out your financials and any immediate travel plans.

Before denying you a passport altogether, the State Department will hold your application for 90 days to allow you to "resolve any erroneous certification issues, make full payment of the tax debt, or enter into a satisfactory payment alternative with the IRS." (A revoked passport is a different story: "There is no grace period for resolving your debt before the State Department revokes an existing passport," says the IRS, though anyone who receives such an alert and has immediate travel plans can call a special number listed on their written notification.) According to the fine print, once you've resolved the tax issue with the IRS, it will reverse the certification within 30 days.

Seem harsh? The reasons for denying a passport can be arcane, to say the least. A Dutch woman was denied a Swiss passport because locals deemed her "too annoying." And in the U.S., passport are denied when, say, someone wears glasses in their passport photo.

This article was originally published in 2017. It has been updated with new information.